"We were supposed to be driving on the Algonquin Western Bypass by 2006 or so.

U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo, R-Egan, secured $9 million in federal transportation money for the congestion-easing project a decade ago, which coincidentally happened to be the last time that Illinois had a capital plan.

That changed Thursday with the General Assembly’s approval of a $29 billion capital bill, which, among other things, fully funds the bypass of the Route 31 and 62 intersection in Algonquin."

The corner of Routes 31 and 62 in downtown Algonquin have long been a hub for gridlock.

What has seemingly lasted just as long is fixing it. The Western Algonquin Bypass, designed to provide traffic congestion relief at that intersection in the form of a 2-mile, four-lane highway, has been a long time in the making.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the $33.3 million project – paid for by federal and state money – was held in Sept. 17, 2012. Construction and complaints from local businesses continue to this day, all for a project initially given the OK all the way back in 1998.